Serene Soul
by Enix-Head
Summary: VincentxOC. A few storyline changes, but they're explained and simple. Sereleia Soulier finds a strange man sleeping in the ShinRa Mansion basement while exploring out of boredom and finds herself wrapped in a net of ShinRa conspiracies. Rating may change


**This isn't the first story I've written but it is the first I've posted. Before we get started, I don't own Final Fantasy VII but I own my OCs the Soulier family. A note so you understand, I altered the story a bit so Sephiroth never burned down Niebelhiem and the story takes place two years after he would have. Vincent still was in the coffin for thirty years because I don't want to remember a twenty something number that I would forget anyways. Don't be haters, 'kay?**

The first thing that passed through Sereleia Soulier's mind that morning was 'What am I going to do today?' The second thought was 'I'll go explore the old ShinRa mansion with Tifa!'

She got dressed in a navy blue tank top, black denim pants, and sneakers. She tied her shoulder length brown hair back in a braid and waited until ten to go to Tifa's house. (Bothering someone too early in the morning is rude.)

When the decided hour rolled around Sereleia went to the Lockheart's residence and knocked on the door.

A man in his mid to late forties with brown hair and unattended morning stubble opened the door. "Oh, good morning, Sara."

"Morning Mr. Lockheart. Is Tifa home?" Sereleia asked hopefully.

"No, she's at Zangan's today." Tifa's dad scratched at his jaw and frowned slightly at the coarse hairs he found.

"Okay then. Tell Tifa I dropped by!" Sereleia waved as she jogged away. 'Guess I'll just explore that mansion myself!'

Sereleia knew about the legends that cloaked the old mansion in mystery. Long before she was born ShinRa's scientists had occupied the building for a year or so. Screams of agony, both human and fiendish, had echoed off the mountain often enough to make the villagers wary whenever one of them came into town for whatever reason. It was never mentioned, but they _knew_ they were conducting human experiments in there. Some people even thought the place was haunted!

Sereleia, however, didn't believe any of it. Her grandpa was a SOLDIER 1st class once; he would be sent on missions to investigate things like this and it usually turned out to be nothing. She wanted to prove that to the village, but she also wanted bragging rights.

"_I've been inside the old ShinRa mansion, and there's nothing there!"_

That's going to be her at the end of the day. She followed the trail out of Niebelhiem and up to the gates of the ShinRa mansion. They opened readily enough, though they let out a creaky complaint. She felt a little too exposed in the yard, so when she got inside the front door she _slammed_ it shut.

Inside, the building looked like it could've been grand, had it been kept up. Two curved staircases descended from the second floor into a large airy foyer with several doors at regular intervals. The floors and walls were covered in dust from many years, turning everything grey and blurry.

The doors on the first floor were all locked, so Sereleia climbed the stairs carefully. On the second floor only some of the doors were locked. The rooms that were open were a bedroom, a study, and a library. The library had a second door with another bedroom. Sereleia felt a slight breeze in the bedroom, but the windows were shut tight.

"That's _weird_." She muttered, her eyes drifting. She caught sight of a crack in what looked like a chimney from the corner of her eye. "That would explain it…" She ran her fingers over the crease and an entire panel slid to the side with a mechanical _CLANK!_

"WHOA!" Sereleia jumped back and watched the hidden doorway. Inside, a winding staircase fell into darkness. 'There's a lot more to this place than I thought!' Stepping into the gloom, she felt along the wall, going blind. When her foot caught on the edge of a step, she swore and held up a materia she owned for light.

Under the faint green light, she saw a mostly empty cellar with a ladder against a wall that went further down. Deciding the ladder was more interesting than a few cobwebby shelves, she ventured further into the basement. The second level was more cave-like, and lit with old emergency lights.

'Probably left over from those ShinRa scientists.' She thought drily. The cave was wide with a low ceiling and only three other doors. Feeling brave, she started moving towards one of the doors. The old wooden door didn't _look_ like it would move; but when she shoved her shoulder against it groaned thunderously on the hinges and let her in. The room was hexagonal shaped, with four stone coffins covered in layers of dust. Three of the four coffins were open, but if Sereleia really strained her ears and held perfectly still, she could barely make out _breathing_ coming from the last coffin.

'Oh gods, this is insanely creepy.' Sereleia's heart was going a million miles an hour as she stepped up to the stone box with her materia held high. Stashing the glowing sphere aside and placing both hands on the edge of the lid, she pushed with all the strength she could muster. The top moved slowly with a low grinding, growling complaint and crashed into the floor on the other side.

Her hands collapsed into the casket when the lid fell away and petrified when she felt cloth. "Oh _gods!_" Sereleia snatched her hands back. She held her breath, but could no longer hear the calm, deep breathing from before. The glow of the materia on the floor left the inside of the sarcophagus dark. She picked up her materia, held it over the coffin, and let out a gasp.

A man lay inside, dead to the world. His long black hair was a striking contrast to his deathly pale skin, and long dark eyelashes fell just above high and well formed cheekbones. His forehead was wrapped in a dark red bandage, and when Sereleia dragged her eyes from his face, she could see he was tall and wore black pants, a long sleeve black shirt with two lines of buttons, and a red cape with a tall collar, buckles, and tattered edges. The oddest part was the pointed gold metal shoes and matching clawed gauntlet on his left arm.

"…Hey." Sereleia's voice was shaky. She steeled herself and continued. "Hey mister, are you…? She shook her head and sighed at herself through her nose. 'great, I'm talking to a dead guy.' But one more look made her rethink that. "He doesn't _look_ dead." Then a second thought crossed her mind. It disgusted her and made her blush at the same time, but now that she's thought of it she just _knew_ she had to do it.

"If he's dead I am _so_ going to hell." She steeped closer and looked once more at him. He was remarkably good looking; she would even go so far as to say _sexy_. She stood alongside the coffin and extended her hand out and over his form. She paused over his face to gather her courage, and pinched his nose shut.

Blood red eyes opened immediately and stared into hers.

line

Vincent Valentine woke lightly at the sound of a far off door falling shut. He lay silently in the personal prison he had chosen for himself and listened to the intruder move about the mansion.

"whoa." The intruder spoke when the secret door on the second floor swung open. All he could make out from the voice was that they were high-pitched, though it may have been the surprise. He felt something shift within him and mentally shut it down. He wouldn't have another death on his hands.

The stranger let out a "Dammit!" that echoed throughout the basement. Vincent slowed his breathing as he heard the heavy wooden door being pushed open. There was a moment of pause, then the person in question walked cautiously towards his coffin.

Two small _paps!_ Were heard, and the top of his coffin slowly ground open and fell with a resounding _CRACK_ on the left of the coffin. Having lost their handhold, two arms fell forward and fell across his abdomen. Vincent's eyes flew open at the contact and froze completely.

The person snatched their arms back with an exclamation of "Oh, _gods!_" From the light of what seemed like a green materia Vincent could see that she was a young woman, probably in her late teens, with long brown hair tied back, large hazel eyes, and a slim build.

Vincent closed his eyes. 'Please, leave before it's too late…'

"Hey…" She paused a second. "Hey mister, are you…" He heard her exhale through her nose and mutter "He doesn't _look_ dead."

'Go home,' Vincent pleaded silently. 'Leave me here to atone for my failure.'

"If he's dead I am _so_ going to Hell for this." She moved beside his shoulder and he felt a warmth radiating on his face. As he was taking a breath, she pinched his nose shut!

His eyes snapped open and stared at her. She stumbled back with a gasp. "Wh-who are you?" She stood at the opposite end of the casket now.

"A man who's made too many mistakes." Vincent closed his eyes in resignation. "Now go home."

"You've…" The girl took a hesitant step forward. "Have you tried to fix them?"

'I _have_ tried. I tried so hard…'

She was silent, then asked "What's your name?"

"Vincent Valentine."

"I'm Sereleia Soulier." The name was familiar to him, and he was trying to place it when she asked "how long have you been in here?"

Now was Vincent's turn to ask a question. "…What year is it?"

"Spring 2011."

"Thirty years, then."

Sereleia's eyes widened. She must have a million questions right now. Her jaw was working to ask a question but no sounds were coming out. "Why have you never left?"

"Please, just go home." Vincent told her on a pained whisper.

"Why don't you come with me?" She asked. This made him open his eyes again and turn to her. "Please, so much has changed since then!"

"No."

"Don't you have any family? I'm sure they'd be ecstatic to see you!"

"Any family I had was gone long before I came here.'

"Well…can you _please_ come with me?" She asked quietly. "Whatever it is you did, waiting thirty years for death isn't the way to go."

'She won't leave me here.' He realized, studying her begging expression. 'I've failed once again.' He sat up slowly and winced as his spine and joints popped after decades of inactivity. He swung his legs over the side of the coffin and stood uneasily.

"I'll help." Sereleia offered. Vincent placed his left hand on her shoulder and both left the room. The ladder offered a bit of a challenge, but only for the first few feet. Sereleia went after and the two climbed the stairs slowly.

Once in the main part of the house, Vincent could see just how long ago people had lived here by how dusty it was. 'It seems no one has been here for decades. Has ShinRa perhaps forgotten about this place?' Well _he_ hasn't forgotten about the man that _did_ this to him; that experimented on his wife's unborn child…

A malevolent force stirred in his mind, and Vincent had to stop and concentrate to suppress it.

"Are you alright? Do you need to rest?" The girl asked.

He calmed that _demon_ by sheer force of will and shook his head. "I don't like this place. It brings back too many bad memories."

They moved on down the stairs (which they took cautiously. Neither of them wanted to fall down or through a flight of stairs.) and out the door. Vincent was nearly blinded by the sunlight and had to let his eyes adjust, but they were on their way again soon.

In town, passersby kept throwing sideways glances at them. Each and everyone that Sereleia caught, she threw an angry 'piss off!' glare at them. But if Vincent so much as glanced at them they scurried away.

'Am I really that frightening?' he wondered as Sereleia walked up to one house and led him inside. The front room had a couch against one wall with a recliner in a corner next to it, a mirror on the wall behind the couch, and an end table between the couch and chair. A television was set on the opposite wall with an entertainment center beneath it and a shelf of books and plastic cases beside it. One wall had a bay window and the front door and the opposite had a painting and a second door.

"Mom, Grampa, we have a guest!" Sereleia called and said to Vincent "here, sit on the couch. Grampa won't let anyone touch his chair."

Light footsteps started in another room and a woman replied "Your grandfather went to the post office. He should beEE!" The woman he assumed was the girl's mother squeaked when she saw the 'guest.'

"Mom are you okay?" the young woman asked.

"Um, honey, can I have a word with you?" The woman asked with one eye on Vincent. Sereleia frowned and followed her mother into the room she was in before. Even then, he could hear every word they were saying.

"Sara, what were you thinking, bringing someone like that into the house?"

"But Mom, I don't think he has a home."

"Probably with good reason! He looks like a serial killer!"

"But he seems kind of sad…"

"We don't know who-"

The front door opened and an old man in his late fifties to early sixties with grayed brown hair called out "I'm home! What's fer lunch?" He caught sight of Vincent on the couch and grinned. "Alice! Have you finally got a new man?"

"I most certainly do _not_." Sereleia's mother sniffed as she came back in the room.

"Grampa!" Sereleia shouted happily with her hands over her head as she bounced into the room.

"Hey there!" The old man caught her in a hug. "Who's that on the couch?"

"He says his name is Vincent Valentine."

The old man sobered instantly and stared at Vincent with wide blue-hazel eyes. "Really?" He let go of Sereleia and moved to stand in front of Vincent. "Stand up, why don't you?"

On high alert now, he stood and watched as the other man circled him once slowly and stop facing him. He slowly held out his hand and said "It's nice to meet you Mr. Valentine."

Studying his expression, Vincent hesitantly took his hand. Suddenly the old man shook hands vigorously and shouted "Why're you shaking, you nervous?"

Vincent's eyes widened in shock. 'It couldn't be…'

"Vince! I haven't seen you in what, thirty years?"

"…Reilly?"

**I'm sure you are thinking 'what the hell is going on?' Well this is what I call a cliffhanger. Some interesting things about the Soulier's names in order of appearance. 'Sereleia' is Russian and means 'Serenity'. Serene Soul. Name of the story right there. 'Alice', despite the story Alice in Wonderland, is actually German and means 'Truth'. Truthful Soul. 'Reilly' is Irish and means 'Valiant.' Valiant Soul. Fitting for a retired ex-SOLDIER 1st Class, I think. Oh, and 'Soulier' is pronounced 'SOU-yeh'. Names and meanings thanks to . **


End file.
